Be Water Conscious and Save Water

Water is precious; water is life, and water is an endangered commodity! Let’s face it, the human being is made up of around two-thirds water and without it we would die. We need to drink water regularly in order to maintain the balance of bodily fluids and ensure that our body remains healthy and working in top gear.

Why then do we care so little for this precious resource of ours and waste it so often? Well, those of us living in first world countries do anyway. People living in third world countries usually suffer from dire water shortages or water scarcity so know the value of water and tend to use it more sparingly.

Be Water Conscious and Save Water

The water on earth is a finite amount that is recycled, but due to the burgeoning global population, more use for industry and energy purposes and the changing climate, there is less and less water available each year. This means less drinking water, less water for agriculture, personal hygiene, recreation, food preparation and more.

So, if we care about the planet, our neighbours and ourselves, we need to conserve water as much as possible, and it is not really difficult to do at all:

1. Your Water Usage: Use this National Geographic Water Footprint Calculator to find out how much your personal water usage is and where you can cut back on water use;

2. Your Energy Usage: Electricity production utilises a lot of water, so find out here how much energy you use and how to minimise it;

3. Go Local: Buying local and organic food is great because these farmers generally have on-farm water conservation and protection programs, and buying locally also uses less water on transport;

4. Gardening: Conserve water in your garden by reducing the size of your lawn, planting a water-wise garden that uses less water, recycle grey-water from dishwashing etc. and harvest rainwater;

5. Personal/Domestic Use: Save water by taking shorter showers, switching the tap off when brushing your teeth, and checking taps and pipes for leaks and immediately attending to any you find;

6. Watershed: A watershed is “a region or area bounded peripherally by a divide and draining ultimately to a particular watercourse or body of water”