Building Green Homes
Water Conservation
Why Should You Care About
Water Conservation?
What If We Do Not Conserve water?
John Csiszar, “What Happens When We Do Not Conserve Water?”, 28 June 2010
Earth’s water supply is finite and water is necessary to life! World water use has grown twice as fast as population within the past century.[1] Less than one percent of the water on earth can be consumed by humans. The other 99% is salt water located in our oceans and seas and fresh water that remains frozen in glaciers. It is true that water can be recycled through the earth’s natural water cycle, but people are using water up before it can be replenished. Here in the United States, Americans use the most water per capita than anywhere else in the world. The average American uses about 100 gallons of water each day and only 64 ounces of that is to drink! We use the most amount of water flushing the toilet each day than any other activity. Each day roughly 400 billion gallons of water is used each day in the United States. [2]
It is true that it is possible to take the salt out of our ocean water and convert it into drinking water, but the time and energy this process requires makes it a costly endeavor. Conserving our natural fresh water we have available not only keeps water readily available, but it also helps to save the energy required to treat, transport, clean, and use the water. Running a faucet for 5 minutes uses the same amount of energy of running a 60W light bulb for 22 hours. Conserving water can also help to decrease the amount of pollutants in our environment. If water levels become too low it can even jeopardize plant and animal life by decreasing the amount of water in our lakes, rivers, and streams. Water is just as essential to wildlife as it is to humans. [3]
Water is a scarce commodity that many people take for granted. Recently areas across the country are experiencing a shortage in water supply and are starting to face challenges of sustaining a healthy water supply.
[1] NPR, “Will The Next War Be Fought Over Water?”, 3 Jan. 2010
[2] US EPA, "Water Trivia Facts", 2013
[3] Proper Green, "Why Should We Conserve Water", 17 July 2013
Shortages
The natural water
cycle requires time
and if water is
used too much too fast, it can result
in water shortages
Conflict
As world
population
grows so does
demand for water, the people in drier parts of the world will be forced to migrate to the wetter parts causing competition for water sources, especially in times of drought
Food Supply
Our food requires
water to grow,
and a shortage in
water can deplete
the amount of water we use to grow our food and cause our food supply to decrease
Costs
Simple economics, an increase in demand for water raises prices
Overworked
Systems
Water sanitation
and filtration
systems are
designed for regulated
water use, too much water can cause overworked equipment to break down or untreated water being let into the water supply, both of which can increase water costs and health risks